In Winds And Thunder
by Kima-Neko
Summary: It has been almost two years since Hiccup and Toothless defeated the Green Death. But when a wild Night Fury kidnaps a child from Berk, a new adventure begins. Accompanied by the other Viking teens, they embark on a dangerous journey...
1. Chapter 1

My first non-one shot fic in English! Not being a native speaker, I have to translate this from German, so please let me know if there are any mistakes! Enjoy reading :)

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><p><em>Thump. Thump.<em>

Hiccup groaned. It was too early. It was too early and he knew it and he bet his prosthetic leg that his best friend knew this, too. But knowing Toothless, the dragon probably didn't care. He wanted to go flying. Now.

Without opening his eyes, Hiccup curled into a ball and pulled the blanket over his head. Five minutes. Was that so much to ask? Maybe if he pretended to be sick, he could...

_THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP._

The whole house shook with the dull sounds of an impatient dragon jumping up and down on the roof. When a clay pot with brushes and pens suddenly fell from the shelf near his bed and shattered on the old floorboards, Hiccup rose into a sitting position. He sighed. Toothless would keep doing this until he got out of bed - and he did know already that the tiredness would disappear once they were up in the air. He had had one and a half years to get used to it, after all!

With another sigh, Hiccup swung his feet out of bed and fished for his leg prosthetic on the night table. The first model made by Gobber had long since been replaced by a new one that he had created with his mentor's help - it was lighter and slightly bigger because a sudden growth spurt had struck the boy last summer so that he now almost reached up to his father's shoulders. He was still too small and too thin for a Viking, though, still a talking fishbone that wasn't even granted a proper growth of beard if not for the small patch of facial hair on his chin. Not really what a 17-year old Viking should have looked like.

Well, one couldn't have everything. If the lack of facial hair was the price he had to pay for the village's respect, his father's pride and Astrid's affection, he could live with that.

**You are taking too long. Why are you taking so long?**

The dragon's clear, deep voice rang through the boy's thoughts and he grinned against his will while putting on his tunic and a warm fur vest. Sometimes, Toothless was just like a small child! And Hiccup could have sworn that the dragon had to be older than him, at least physically. He could feel they were on the same level mentally - an older dragon would not have been as curious as the Night Fury had been at the beginning of their then forbidden friendship.

"Coming!" he called upwards, knowing that the dragon would hear him. Unlike his father who miraculously managed to sleep through Toothless' early morning routine each day without even so much as stirring. Stoick's snores made the house shake just as much as the dragon's stomping...

**Hurry up! **was Toothless impatient answer to that in which he could hear the blatant pleasant anticipation of an early morning flight with his human. Hiccup remembered the first time he had heard the dragon's voice in his mind all too well - it had been after their first real test drive, at sunset on that stony beach, after the Terrible Terrors had appeared. They had caught fish and had been eating it (Toothless ate his raw, Hiccup had preferred his roasted) with the Terrors peacefully purring next to them, when the dragon had mumbled something about how the poison dwarfs as he called them stayed with them just for the fish. And Hiccup had heard him. He had heard and understood him and since then, they had been able to communicate.

Nobody else could hear Toothless, of course, so that the rest of the village had to think that he had lost his mind along with his left foot in the battle with the Green Death when they saw him seemingly talking to himself.

Well, they didn't know what they missed out on!

Without wasting another second, Hiccup hurried outside. He had knowingly left his helmet - the breast-hat as he still referred to it - on the bed post. He had already lost it once on his first Snoggletog with Toothless and he really didn't want to repeat that particular experience.

As he opened the door, he was greeted by a gust of cold winter air. The short summer Berk had - also known as the time the snow stopped and the hail started - was still long in the coming but it was already remarkably warmer than a few weeks ago. It could almost have been considered _warm_ by Berkian standards.

Hiccup had been right with his assumption - it was too early. The sun was just a rosy shimmer on the horizon of a still-dark morning but that didn't seem to bother Toothless in the slightest. With a happy purr, the Night Fury leaped from the roof top of Hiccup's house excitedly and landed in the calf-high snow, spraying the boy with powdery snow from head to toe.

"Hey!" Hiccup protested half-laughing, half-scandalized and shook his head to get the snow out of his hair. "I'm here already, no need to go on a rampage!"

**You were taking too long**, Toothless complained, his green eyes big and not aware of any guilt.

"I'm here now, bud," Hiccup grinned. "So, you up for a flight?" It was a pointless question - jumping up and down excitedly, Toothless hit the ground with his tail a few times and Hiccup couldn't help feeling glad he had taken off the fake tail fin the day before.

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><p>Hiccup wondered how he had survived fifteen long years on the ground when there was <em>flying<em>. He couldn't do it on his own, of course, he was as dependant on Toothless as the dragon was on him in this case. But how in Odin's name hadn't he thought of training a dragon earlier?

Flying was magical. It was freedom and cold and wind and adrenaline and excitement and joy and so much more he couldn't name but felt every time he and Toothless raced through the clouds, with the wind in his ears and the flapping of mighty black wings beneath him. Endless lightness as he let himself fall from the dragon's back, when they fell down, lower and lower, with only the never-ending ocean that encircled Berk under them.

He loved this feeling of easiness and irresponsibility, loved the flutter of nerves as they flew more and more daring maneuvers.

"What do you say, buddy" Hiccup shouted over the whooshing of the wind, "another go?" The enthusiastic roar of the Night Fury was enough of an answer. Hiccup laughed - he felt like fifteen again and all worries disappeared, here above the clouds, he was fifteen again and this was his first time up in the sky, he was free and uninhibited - and moved the pedal on the saddle's left side at the same moment as he unhinged the retaining straps of his harness. He pushed away from the saddle and then they were canonballing down. A hoot escaped the boy's lips even though they had carried out this maneuver countless times before.

He fell, fell, fell, lower and lower, and Toothless fell with him, his deep roar speaking of the same pure joy the boy felt. And then, only a few feet above the treetops of a small forest, Hiccup re-hooked the straps to the saddle and they flew across the trees like Odin and Sleipnir themselves.

Breathing heavily, the boy clutched at the saddle and pressed himself flatly on the dragon's back so that they flew even faster.

**That was great**, Toothless announced happily. **I've never flown so fast before!**

It seemed as if they just had found out just how fast a Night Fury could go. Hiccup grinned.

"Wanna see if you can go faster?" he shouted. He could feel the dragon's excitement but before Toothless could give him an answer, the world seemed to jolt.

Hiccup couldn't describe the sensation otherwise; the sky above them seemed to tremble just like the earth beneath them and an ear-splitting screech resonated through the air - he knew that sound, had heard it before a wall of flames had closed before him, the memory still too fresh and livid, pain in his left leg which seemed to be on fire itself, he fell, dropped through the endless blue disoriented and powerless...

_**Hiccup!**_

Only the urgent, worried voice of the dragon managed to bring him back to reality abruptly. He had clasped his hands over his ears instinctively to protect them from the screech and Toothless was nervously flapping his wings. A deep growl escaped the Night Fury's throat.

"T-Toothless," Hiccup groaned, still recovering from the shock. "What was that?" His heart was racing. The images his memory had recreated had come too suddenly, too unexpectedly and the ear-splitting scream had done the last thing to trigger his panic attack.

The dragon growled in response.

**Someone from my People is here.**

Perplexed, Hiccup let his hands fall from his ears.

"Someone... from your People? You mean- you mean there's another Night Fury here?"

**They shouldn't be**, Toothless replied grimly, ears pressed against his head. Another growl. **My People live further to the south, they shouldn't be in this area!**

"Maybe it's your family, searching for you?" Hiccup suggested, suddenly realizing that he knew nothing about Toothless' origin. What a great friend he was.

**It's something else. We have to get back to the village.**

The dragon waited just long enough for Hiccup to get a proper hold. Then, he raced back to the village. Even faster than before.

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><p>The village was emptied when the two friends landed on the big plaza in the middle. A pillar of smoke was rising in the distance, as if a house had been on fire... Only a few Nadders and Zipplebacks sat on the roofs; when they saw the Night Fury, the dragons raised a row.<p>

"What...?" Hiccup murmured, shocked, while sliding from Toothless' back. Toothless frantically looked from one of the other dragons to another and growled.

**He's been here. Someone from my People has been here and-**

The dragon's voice was interrupted very suddenly when someone shouted,

"Hiccup!" The boy instantly recognized the voice, he could have recognized it among thousands. How could he not, having paid attention to that particular voice since he had been ten years old? Astrid appeared between the houses, her long blond hair blowing in the cold wind. She came to a slithering halt in front of him and he grabbed her shoulders before she could slip and fall.

"Astrid!" he yelled and looked at her worryingly. "What happened, where is everyone? Toothless said he felt something but-"

"I knew it wasn't him," Astrid wheezed without answering his question. "I told them it couldn't have been him but..."

"What happened?" Hiccup repeated a tad more urging and grabbed her shoulders a bit tighter. Astrid bit her lip for a moment and threw a quick glance at Toothless, then she said,

"We've been attacked. By a dragon." Hiccup stared at her incredulously.

"A dragon? But our dragons don't attack people, that's-"

**It was him.**

"It was a Night Fury," Astrid confirmed Toothless' silent realization. "It- it fired a blast at your house and then it-"

"It did w_hat_?" Hiccup's blood ran cold. "What about my father, is he hurt? Has anyone been hurt?"

"Nobody's hurt, they're all in the Mead Hall," Astrid replied with a shake of her head. "But..."

"But what?" She looked into his eyes. Seriously. Worried. And... frightened...?

"Hiccup." Her voice was but a whisper. Her bottom lip had been bitten bloody. "It took Hrist."

He felt goose bumps on his arms. Hrist. Hrist, of all people, the Elder's granddaughter! Small, innocent Hrist who had been one of the few people to always be kind to Hiccup the Useless before his ascent to the village's hero.

As if on cue, suddenly all of the dragons began to roar and a sharp snarl escaped Toothless' throat, sounding angrier than Hiccup had ever heard him.

**They have left a message for the dragons**, the Night Fury's angry voice boomed through the boy's mind. **'One of yours for one of ours'.**

Without wasting another second, Hiccup hurried away - to the Mead Hall.


	2. Chapter 2

Ugh, sorry for the late update! wouldn't let me login last night... I hope you enjoy the story anyway! :)

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

"Dad!" Still running, Hiccup pushed open the heavy door to the Mead Hall and hurried inside as fast as he could. The entire village was gathered inside – they were standing around the big table in the middle of the Hall, with Stoick, Gobber, Spitelout, Phlegma and the Elder at the end of the table. All eyes were set on the boy who, breathing heavily, searched their faces for a confirmation of what Astrid had told him.

He found it.

"Hiccup!" Stoicks deep voice boomed through the Hall. "Where in Odin's name have ye been?" Hiccup paused and frowned.

"I was flying with Toothless," he explained seriously and raised an eyebrow. "Like I do every morning."

"Told ya it wasn't his dragon," Gobber grumbled and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Hiccup threw a quick glance at him. What was that supposed to mean? They had really been suspecting _Toothless_?

"Toothless hasn't touched Hrist," he said loudly, trying to suppress his annoyance with the other Vikings' distrust. "We left before dawn – and we came back because he said he felt another Night Fury! Astrid told me what happened but..."

"The damn beast set our house on fire, that's what happened," Stoick grunted. "Came out of nowhere, shot a blast at the house and snatched little Hrist before either of us could even _blink!"_

"And then it screeched," Gobber nodded at the chief. "I could've sworn my ears were about to fall off, damn lizard..." And the next moment, everyone started talking simultaneously. Hiccup opened his mouth to call them to order but realized very quickly that he stood no chance. The villagers were torn between worry and anger and usually, Vikings tended to concentrate on their wrath. If he intervened now, he would probably just end up being shouted at.

Stoick and the others seemed to think the same thing because they silently watched as the villagers roared and vowed vengeance. Hiccups eyes wandered to the Elder who was grimly looking into nothingness.

He could also see the twins, Snotlout and Fishlegs next to her. They had probably been consulted when it came to the dragons because he hadn't been there. But judging from the lost looks on their faces, they also didn't know what to do. How could they? In three hundred years of war and battles against the dragons in which the winged lizards had killed humans and vice versa, there never had been a case of abduction. And a child at that!

Hiccup bit his lip. Maybe... Maybe...

"They've been like this since it happened." Astrid had appeared next to him. "For the last two hours, they were only screaming and..." She hesitated. "... wondering if it wasn't a mistake to trust the dragons."

"What?" Hiccup turned around abruptly and shook his head, unbelievingly. "They can't be serious! Our dragons would never do something like that, they trust us unconditionally! We care for their babies, help in raising them – why in Thor's name would one of our dragons be involved if a wild Night Fury decides to kidnap someone?" Astrid looked at him for a moment and said,

"They were suspecting Toothless most of all, you know." The anger he had managed to suppress a few minutes ago returned with all its might. But instead of giving went to his anger, he deadpanned,

"Yeah, sure, because the one dragon that rescued their behinds from the biggest dragon in history suddenly decides to kidnap an innocent child one and a half years later! Thanks for your trust, dear fellow Vikings, really."

"The rest of the gang convinced them it was nonsense," Astrid continued, slightly rolling her eyes at his remark. "So..."

"At least someone takes me seriously, that's something at least," a frustrated Hiccup grunted, but pulled himself together quickly. This was not the time to open up old wounds. To Hel with everyone who still doubted Toothless and him, he had bigger concerns right now.

"Silence!" Stoick's voice suddenly bellowed through the Hall but he wasn't in any way of the other Vikings' angry shouting. "Calm down, for Thor's sake!"

"Shut yer traps, ye stinkin' troll buttocks!" Gobber grumbled loudly but no one paid attention to him, either.

"I _demand_ we leave at once and make them lizards pay!" someone yelled.

"And who's gonna collect your Odin-forsaken remains?" someone else shouted back.

"Vengeance!"

"We have to free Hrist!"

"Nobody leaves Berk!" Stoick was obviously trying very hard to yell louder than everyone else but clearly wasn't very successful. "Nobody leaves this damn village until ye all _calm down_ and we make a _plan_!" The overall noise grew even bigger at this.

"A plan," Hiccup repeated doubtingly under his breath. "How do you plan on doing anything with this bunch, let alone create a rescue plan...? Here goes nothing!" An idea slowly began to form inside his head. A crazy idea that...

He could feel Astrid watching him.

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><p>As had to be expected, the discussions in the Mead Hall hadn't led to anything so that Hiccup had left pretty fast. The shouting disturbed him in his frantic deliberations and if they didn't act soon, there probably wouldn't be much of Hrist left to rescue at all. Astrid had stayed with the other Viking teens to help Stoick calm down the rest of the village.<p>

Toothless was waiting for him at the village square where the boy had left him. While Hiccup and Astrid had been at the Thing, the Night Fury had talked to the other dragons and interrogated them on their view of what had happened.

**It was no old Night Fury**, he told his rider while they went up the hill that led to Hiccup's still-smoking but otherwise intact-looking house. **They said he left just as quickly as he appeared... he only left the message.**

"_'One of yours for one of ours'_," Hiccup quoted thoughtfully. "I wonder..." He came to a sudden halt, causing the dragon to bump into him, almost sending him to the ground. Instinctively, Toothless caught the hem of Hiccup's tunic with his teeth and steadied him so that the boy wouldn't fall over.

"Thanks, bud," Hiccup groaned, straightening himself with some difficulty, "what would I even do without you?"

**You'd break your neck someday**, Toothless answered with an affectionate purr. **What's wrong, why are you stopping?**

"I think I got it," Hiccup said and turned around to pat the Night Fury's muzzle gratefully. Then, he looked around and spotted some Vikings who had also left the Mead Hall in frustration. "I'll explain when we're home..." Toothless glanced at the scattered humans and cocked his head. He didn't say anything, though, but followed his human friend up the hill and inside his house which the boy locked, just in case. His father wouldn't be back just yet (as the chief, he probably had his hands full for a while) but Hiccup didn't need any witnesses for this particular conversation.

**What is it you understood?**, Toothless demanded once the door had been locked behind him. Secretly, Hiccup was glad the Night Fury had stopped growing about two months ago – otherwise, he wouldn't have fit in the house anymore... not that houses were built to house dragons, anyway...

"I think I understood what that Night Fury meant with that cryptic message he left," the boy murmured and looked at his friend quizzically. "Toothless, how old are you?" Toothless opened his eyes wide and drew back his head, confused.

**What?**

"How old are you?" Hiccup repeated a tad more urgent and the dragon made a very strange grimace that resembled a frown.

**That's a very strange question, even coming from you**, he puffed. **But if it makes you happy, my age is about the same as yours if converted into human years. But what does that have to do with...?**

"That means, you're technically still a child?"

**My People can reach up to three hundred of your years**, Toothless replied. **I'm not a hatchling anymore but yes, technically, I am still a child until I lose the last of my silver scales.**

Hiccup's eyes wandered to the few scattered silvery shimmering scales on the dragon's black hide. His theory had just been proven to be true. Oh great Odin, why did he have to be right with this kind of thing?

"He meant you," Hiccup groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. "That Night Fury meant you! They probably... think we've kidnapped you or something, so he took Hrist in turn!" He started pacing around restlessly. "_One of ours for one of yours_, that's an offer, not for the dragons, but for us _humans_ – they're holding Hrist for ransom, to make us free you! But..." He paused and stared at Toothless. "... We're not holding you up, are we? You could... if you wanted to... I mean, you'd go... wouldn't you?" The dragon didn't move for a few seconds and Hiccup's heart began to race. He could feel a lump rising in his throat. The last time he had been this afraid had been when Toothless had disappeared on their first Snoggletog.

**For someone who is supposedly the smartest Viking of Berk, you're acting pretty stupid sometimes.**

Hiccup started and opened his mouth but before he could protest, Toothless started rubbing his head against the boy's chest affectionately like an overgrown house cat.

"Toothless, what...?"

**If I wanted to leave, I would have done so long ago. And now stop talking nonsense, we have to make a plan to rescue the little girl.**

Perplexed, Hiccup stared at his best friend for a moment, then he relaxed a bit and hugged the dragon's neck who purred lovingly in response. The boy patted the Night Fury's hide and drew a deep breath.

"You're right, buddy," he nodded, releasing his friend from the hug. "Looks like all of this is our fault, so we'll make up for it, right?"

**Right.**

His father had prohibited everyone to leave the village... But well, this wasn't the first time Hiccup broke a rule.

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><p>There were some nights when Hiccup was grateful that his father was a heavy sleeper. A few years ago, it had been the nights he had cried himself to sleep, tired and exhausted from countless beatings and insults, or the few nights he had snuck out of the house to visit Toothless before everything had gone so horribly wrong in the Kill Ring.<p>

This was another one of these nights. Trying to make as little noise as possible (just in case), Hiccup crept down the stairs from his room and threw a glance at his father's bed. Stoick's deep, loud snores caused some dust to fall from the roof beams and the boy suppressed a sneeze.

_Sorry, Dad._

In the faint light of the last glowing logs in the fire place Hiccup collected food and warm furs he would undoubtedly need on the upcoming journey. Although Toothless had shown him mental images of his birth place, he preferred to be safe than sorry – and even if it was a lot warmer wherever the Night Furies lived, they still had to _reach_ that place. And until then, they would be crossing islands such as Freezing-to-Death and Hopeless so that he was still very likely to end up with frost bites.

After tucking away a tightly corded pack of salted meat into the big sea bag he had snitched from Stoick's belongings, Hiccup sighed and produced a short note which he put on the table. When his father would read it, they'd be over the hills and far away and with Toothless being the fastest dragon on the island, nobody would catch up with them.

He grabbed his warm vest and the woolen cloak from the hook near the door and put them on; his tunic was enough to keep him warm for a few hours when they went flying in the mornings, but he definitely needed warmer clothing for a long aerial journey... He also put on the gloves Astrid had given him for Snoggletog last year and bit his lip as he remembered that he hadn't said goodbye to her. She would kill him when they returned!

Sending a quick prayer to Odin, Hiccup shook his head and heaved the bag over his shoulders before opening the door and sneaking out into the bitingly cold night. It had started to snow again and the few foot prints that led up to the house had already disappeared...

Well, this meant that his tracks would disappear from view soon, too. At least he hoped they would.

He had told Toothless to wait outside the village so that their departure wouldn't be discovered too early – and so, he made his way through the calf-high snow banks. It was strange; looking at Berk at night when it was covered in snow, one could have thought this was the ideal, perfect place, full of peace and harmony. No flatly sung drinking songs resounding from the Mead Hall, no brawl behind the Elder's house, only silence and the quiet crunching of his steps on the snow.

Two years ago, Hiccup wouldn't have believed how much he would grow to love his birth place. So how did Toothless have to feel, then? His best friend was far away from his home and family and yet, he had decided to stay here, twelve days north of Hopeless, a few degrees south of Freezing-to-Death, solidly on the Meridian of Misery. Why?

He wouldn't have thought to know so little about the dragon. He hadn't even known Toothless' age up until yesterday! Hiccup was intent on getting to know the Night Fury better on this journey. It was high time for it, almost two years after the beginning of their friendship...

He had just rounded the last houses that separated him from the little forest Toothless was waiting in, when a well-known voice to his right said,

"I _knew_ it!" He whirled around and stared at Astrid who was standing in a house's shadow, clad in a dark, heavy cloak, her arms crossed in front of her chest. A sea bag and her quietly huffing dragon Stormfly stood next to her.

"A-Astrid?" Hiccup stammered, completely dumbfounded. "What... What in Thor's name are you doing here?" She raised a brow.

"What does it look like?" She shook her head. "Did you really think you could just hightail it without anyone noticing?"

"Astrid," Hiccup groaned. "You don't understand, it's..."

"Yes, I do understand," she interrupted. "You have a hero's complex – not surprising considering what happened. But did you even stop and think about this thing?"

"Of course I have!" Hiccup hissed, scandalized. "It's beencarefully thought out and-"

"You haven't," Astrid interrupted again. "What if something happens to you? If you get hurt?"

"Toothless can..."

"What if he can't? If both of you are hurt like after your battle with the Queen, what are you gonna do, hm?" He opened his mouth. And closed it again. Astrid snorted. "Besides, you forgot your sword at my place. Were you really planning on leaving for Hrist's rescue without a single weapon?" She opened her cloak and threw his scabbard and sword with which he had learned to fight in the last couple months at him. He had been a lot better than expected with it, it was just that no one had thought of giving him a blade instead of an axe or a hammer.

Hiccup caught the weapon clumsily and staggered back half a step from the impact. Woah, he always forgot how much strength the girl had...

"Really, now," Astrid sighed and threw back the stray strands of her fringe. "For someone who's supposed to be the smartest Viking of Berk, you're acting really dumb sometimes."

"Are you in league with Toothless now?" Hiccup groaned. This had to be a joke! And they had used the same words to insult him, too! He really felt like prohibiting her to come with him but he realized that she was probably right. Knowing himself, he'd end up needing help sooner or later and Toothless would possibly not be able to do it. And besides, Astrid wasn't the kind of girl who accepted being told what to do.

"Fine, okay," he grunted. "Come along, then, but..." He was cut off at this point because her fist hit his upper arm. "Hey!"

"That's for thinking about leaving me behind," Astrid told him coolly. Pouting, he rubbed his arm.

"I knew you'd do that..."

"And yet you do nothing to stop it? Honestly..." He huffed and shook his head, then he looked at the small forest behind them. Toothless was waiting for him...

"Let's go," he sighed and was about to move away when he noticed that Astrid wasn't showing the slightest inclination to follow him. Confused, he turned around to her and raised both eyebrows. "Is there... something else?"

"Gods, there you are!" The stumping of heavy steps made him jump and he turned around to come face to face with his cousin Snotlout and Fishlegs, both clad in warm cloaks, loaded with sea bags and their dragons trailing behind them.

"Really, Hiccup," Fishlegs puffed, shaking his head. "You could have asked me to join you – I mean, the possibility of me turning you down is about 0,073%! And Astrid wouldn't have threatened to beat me up..."

"I..."

"It figures you'd try and get all the credit!" Snotlout grumbled. "At least _Astrid_ knows you'd be left stranded without me!" Hiccup opened his mouth to complain when another voice said,

"Loki's holey pants, Fishbone! Tell me you didn't plan on leaving without Berk's smartest and strongest Viking?"

"And who's that, you?" The twins, of course. He should have figured... Ruffnut and Tuffnut came into view now, followed by their Zippleback. They also wore warm clothes and had bags with them.

"Shut it, you twerp!"

"Shut it yourself, troll-face!"

"Guys!" Hiccup groused. "What in Odin's name are you doing here?"

"We're coming with you, duh," Tuffnut said, getting off his sister for a moment.

"Aren't you supposed to be smart or something?" Ruffnut agreed before whacking her twin brother's head. Hiccup couldn't believe his ears. Had everyone decided to conspire against him now?

"C'mon, we're losing time," Snotlout decided, "let's scram before the rest of the village wakes up and gives us a piece of their mind!" And without ever so much as looking at Hiccup, the other teens disappeared into the forest. The chieftain's son gazed after them, totally perplexed, so that he didn't notice Astrid coming up to him and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. He gave a start and raised a brow at her.

"You know," she grinned and locked hands with him. "For everything else."

They caught up to the others pretty fast, even before they had reached the clearing where Toothless waited. When they came into view, the dragon straightened himself but paused when he saw his rider wasn't alone.

"Well, bud," Hiccup sighed and patted the confused Night Fury's neck. "Looks like our rescue squad got some back-up."

**Some?**, Toothless repeated with a huff. **You can say that again!**

"Believe me," Hiccup assured him, shaking his head. "That wasn't my idea."

"No, your idea was to go to the dogs in a foreign land, all on your own," Astrid cut in. Then, she looked at Toothless. "And you! You should have stopped him!" The Night Fury's eyes grew big and he whined quietly.

**Hiccup, help me. Your girlfriend is scaring me. Help me!**

"Fat chance, buddy," Hiccup replied. "I already got my sermon, it's your turn now." Accompanied by the twins' cackling laughter, Astrid continued to scold Toothless and Hiccup sighed. He watched his girlfriend chiding the Night Fury for a while before he finally took pity and said,

"If we don't leave soon, the sun will rise. C'mon, Vikings, grab your shields!" He earned an amused snort from Astrid and laughter from the other teenagers for using their old catch-phrase. Nobody protested and soon, the bags were secured to the dragons and their riders had positioned themselves in the saddles.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Astrid asked quietly and Hiccup nodded.

"We'll head for Hopeless first, in case we need to stock up in something. And then we'll continue to the south – I hope Toothless knows more about where to go by then."

**Thank you for your boundless trust on that matter.**

"I love you too, bud." He made sure that the others were ready, then he shouted,

"Follow me!"

Flapping their wings, the five dragons took off and soared into the sky. Soon, they were flying across the endless night sky, the wind blowing snow in their faces. As Hiccup turned back to the sleeping village, he could have sworn that the scattered lights of forgotten fires winked at him.

Frowning, he turned around to stare onwards and forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand.

_Don't worry, Hrist. We'll get you back, I promise._

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><p><strong>tbc...<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! I'm afraid we're going on a small hiatus here because I am currently working on my original novel which I want to finish until April. Please bear with me, I won't drop this story, I promise! I really hope to see you again in April :) Enjoy!

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><p>The advantage of journeying on a dragon's back was that it was a lot quicker than travelling by ship as most Vikings did. The disadvantage was that you had to run for shelter whenever a storm loomed at the horizon if you didn't want to be blown into the ice-cold sea.<p>

As the afternoon neared, the winds above the sea started to grow stronger. Although Hiccup and Toothless had flown through several storms before (the thrill had almost been worth having to stay in bed with a cold for a whole week afterwards) but he doubted it would be a good idea to do this now – none of them could afford to fall ill. Certainly not at the very beginning of their journey.

"We have to land somewhere!" he shouted to the others. "There's a storm coming up!"

"I thought we were Vikings?" Snotlout yelled back. "Wasn't there something about an occupational hazard?"

"If you want to take a bath in the ocean, sure, go ahead," Astrid replied dryly.

"There are 39 smaller islands around Berk in total, at least five have to be in our perimeter!" Fishlegs shared whose Gronckle had caught up with Toothless. "The probability of us being hit by the storm before we find one of the islands is about 37 percent!"

Hiccup nodded, secretly grateful that the others had decided to join him.

"Very good, 'Legs!" he replied and turned to Ruffnut and Tuffnut whose Zippleback was flying several feet beneath him. "Ruff, Tuff, you keep watch for islands, you have the most eyes!"

"Yeah!" the twins answered synchronically, diving lower and disappearing beneath the dark clouds that were slowly beginning to gather. The wind also grew stronger.

With each passing minute, the storm came nearer and nearer. When the first icy gusts of wind yanked at the riders' hair and clothes, Fishleg's Gronckle Meatlug seemed to have serious problems keeping up with the others. Toothless let himself fall back and the others dragons followed, so that Meatlug wouldn't be left behind.

**Looks like there is another cold wave approaching Berk**, Toothless concluded grimly. **If we don't leave these wind currents quickly, we could lose much time.**

"I know..." Hiccup bit his lip which was already chapped from the cold wind. Then, he leaned to the right and scanned the cloud cover for a sign from the twins. "C'mon... Normally, you two can find anything..."

"Um, guys," Fishlegs piped up nervously from behind, "the probability of being hit by the storm is slowly starting to look fairly bad for us!"

"You don't say, we'd never have guessed!" Snotlout shouted who slowly beginning to have problems holding on to his Monstrous Nightmare Hookfang, too. Hiccup ignored the two of them and clutched the straps on Toothless' saddle a bit harder.

Where on earth were the twins? Fishlegs had said that five islands had to be in close proximity, how hard could it be to find one of them? Or had something happened to Ruffnut and Tuffnut? If he was responsible for them being hurt, then...

"Guys!" He gave a start when Ruffnuts voice rang out, even more croaking than usual from trying to scream louder than the wind. "We found an island!"

"About five miles to the south-west!" Tuffnut agreed.

"Everyone, follow the twins!" Hiccup shouted just as a lightning flashed through the dark clouds and Toothless had to bend off abruptly to escape the electric charge. This move, however, enabled Hiccup to see the twins' Hideous Zippleback Zipzap (they hadn't been very creative when it came to name-giving) who had obvious problems to stay afloat.

The others didn't make him repeat his command and heaved to, following the twins.

"The storm is gonna reach is in about 1.7 minutes!" Fishlegs screamed in Hiccup's direction. "We should hurry a bit!"

**You don't say**, Toothless commented at the same time Hiccup thought the very same thing. Under normal circumstances, the boy would have laughed because they were so alike but in this particular situation, he confined to patting the Night Fury's neck. Then, he fell back behind Snotlout to make sure they wouldn't lose anyone.

The next five miles turned out to be the longest and hardest they had ever flown. It was one thing to fly through a massive snow storm which constantly blew ice-cold loads of snow in your face but to dodge lightnings at the same time which were flashing more frequently now was an entirely other story. The wind currents grew stronger the lower they went down and Hiccup understood that the storm had already reached them.

**The worst is yet to come**, Toothless predicted sullenly, causing his rider to moan and press himself closer to the dragon's back. **The winds will become even stronger and-**

"Ruffnut! Tuffnut!"

Astrid's horrified shriek made both of them start and as they looked down, they saw that Zipzap had lost the fight against the wind currents – he was plummeting down along with the screaming twins. In the not-so far distance, they could see the outline of an island.

Hiccup cursed under his breath and moved the pedal with his prosthesis so that Toothless dipped into a nose dive, followed closely by Astrid and Stormfly. They left Meatlug and Hookfang behind and in the split second before Toothless reached the falling Zipzap, he ordered his rider to hold on very, _very_ tight.

The boy had just enough time to dig his nails into the saddle and press both thighs against the dragon's body when the Zippleback's whole weight pulled at the Night Fury, pulling him down several feet. Toothless had gripped one of the other dragon's legs with each of his forepaws, causing a jolt to go through Zipzap's body that threw off the twins.

"Hold on!" Astrid screamed but only Ruffnut reacted in time as Stormfly reached the falling twins. Toothless howled from the strain because the Zippleback was pulling at him with his additional weight and Hiccup had to watch, helplessly, as Tuffnut continued to plummet down.

"Snotlout, do something!" he yelled at his cousin who, luckily, had already reacted and was navigating Hookfang down. The distance between Tuffnut and the sea rapidly became less.

Thirty feet.

Hookfang furled his wings and bolted down, swift as an arrow.

Twenty feet.

Hookfang passed Hiccup and Toothless who made an effort to keep Zipzap in the air.

Ten feet.

The Nightmare left Astrid behind who helped a loudly swearing Ruffnut climb onto Stormfly's back.

Five feet.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Hiccup heard himself beg.

One foot.

"_Tuffnut_!"

Tuffnut had already sunk headlong up to his waist when the Nightmare's claws finally closed around his legs. Hookfang unfurled his wings and quickly gained height, accompanied by Snotlout's relieved jeering.

Hiccup whispered a quick thanking prayer to Odin. This could have gone terribly wrong.

With Fishleg's help, who caught up with them with quite a delay, Toothless was able to stabilize Zipzap enough to make them fly together, and they followed Astrid, Ruffnut and Stormfly who had had the presence of mind to not waste more time and flown towards the island. Hookfang was right behind them.

The island wasn't big, just about the size of the one they had been shipwrecked at years ago while searching for the Boneknapper with Gobber. It was barren bedrock, covered in waist-high snow; nothing grew here, that much was clear.

Astrid and Ruffnut landed first, with Fishlegs and Hiccup along with Zipzap on their heels, closely followed by Snotlout and Tuffnut.

"We have to get out of the wind!" Hiccup shouted and slid from Toothless' back to give the Night Fury some air after carrying the Zippleback.

"There's a cave in the rock!" Astrid replied and pointed forward. Having trouble seeing anything through the hefty snowfall, it took him a while to see it. It was a tilted gap in the rock that apparently went deep into the small mountain. On the face of it, the cave was just big enough for all of them.

"Let's go, everyone!"

They reached the cave just as another lightning flashed across the dark sky. Shuddering, the Viking teens slid from their dragons and crowded round Tuffnut whose teeth were chattering violently.

"I'm c-cold," he shivered. "I am v-very cold!" Astrid didn't hesitate to get a rolled-up warm blanket from her bag and put it around the male twin's shoulders.

"Wrap yourself up if you don't want to get pneumonia," she advised. Tuffnut opened his mouth – and his sister's fist collided with his jaw. He stumbled back and crashed against Hiccup who got pushed into Fishlegs in turn who luckily caught both of them, if a bit confused.

"Ow!" Tuffnut gave a howl of pain and whirled around to face Ruffnut who was flushed red and looked angrier than Hiccup had ever seen her. "Are you o-out of your mind? That h-hurt!"

"What part of 'hold on' you didn't get, troll-face?" Ruffnut hissed. Tuffnut scoffed and grumbled,

"Oh, shut it, G-Grendel's bride!" He attempted to lunge at her but Astrid grabbed one of his dreadlocks and pulled him back.

"Enough!" The twins ignored her.

"Jotunn-brain!"

"Nidhogg-f-fart!"

**If I wasn't used to them by now, I would think they hated each other**, Toothless said, rolling his eyes at the twins' exchange. **Why don't they just say that they were worried?**

"We have stubbornness issues, remember?" Hiccup answered quietly, stroking the Night Fury's side. Then, he turned to the rest of the group,

"Looks like we're stuck until the storm subsides. Let's get some rest while we can. Keep close to the dragons, their body heat should keep you warm."

"Aren't they, like, lizards?" Snotlout asked while sitting down next to Hookfang who had curled up against one of the walls.

"A dragon's blood is heated by the fire in its core," Fishlegs explained at once. "The fire's hot enough to keep them warm constantly if it gets cold."

"See?" Hiccup grinned. "Not your average cold-blooded lizards."

"Gods, did you guys have books for breakfast or something?" Snotlout groaned, wrapping himself in his cloak.

"Well..."

"Fishlegs, that was sarcasm," Hiccup said while pulling his own blanket from his bag and sat down against Toothless who had laid down next to Hookfang. Fishlegs positioned himself next to Meatlug and put his blanket around his shoulders like a second cloak, while Astrid put the still bickering twins to silence with a well-aimed whack on their heads.

"How old are you, three?" She rolled her eyes and led Stormfly over to Toothless and Hiccup where she took a seat next, huddling closer to the boy without a word.

"Tuffnut's got my blanket," she explained very quietly when he gave her a surprised look. He noticed the light blush of her cheeks but refrained from telling her so and spread out his blanket over them before putting an arm around her. Snotlout muttered something under his breath when he saw Astrid snuggling up to Hiccup but the latter ignored his cousin – it was an open secret that Snotlout still hadn't gotten over his crush for the girl.

"We should try to get as much sleep as possible," Hiccup said loudly and tried not to think about how much time they were probably losing right now. "Once the storm subsides enough for the dragons to fly, we move on."

"And h-here I t-thought we'd be e-establishing our winter a-abode," Tuffnut sneered quietly. "I mean, isn't it t-totally cuddly in h-here?" This comment earned him another whack from his twin sister. But before they could start quarrelling again (Odin, this would be one _long_ journey!), Toothless groaned impatiently and spat an aimed plasma bolt to the middle of the cave which made the rocks it hit glow slightly, instantly lighting up the cave a bit.

"Woah!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut jumped, hugging each other in shock, and backed away while Toothless snickered.

**Do you think they will be quiet now?**

"Yes, bud," Hiccup chuckled and Astrid laughed. "They'll be quiet now." Satisfied, the Night Fury put his head on his paws and huffed quietly. A wave of warm air hit Hiccup and he leaned against Toothless a bit more. Only now he noticed how tired he was.

There was a full-blown storm raging outside, lightning flashed every now and again, thunder boomed. But with Astrid huddled up against him, wrapped up in the warm blanket and with the dragon's warm body behind them, Hiccup noticed that he slowly drifted off to sleep which he hadn't gotten the previous night.

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><p>He awoke suddenly, in absolute darkness. He could feel Astrid and Toothless next to him, still sleeping. Fishlegs muttered something in his sleep and Snotlout's snores showed his relatedness to Stoick only too well (in a few years time, he would be serious competition for the chief). But they couldn't have woken him up, he was used to his father, after all, and all those hunting trips they had been sent on the past summer had made him familiar with his cousin's snoring, too.<p>

What had it been, then?

Hiccup had a strange feeling in his gut, as if something very, very bad was about to happen very, very soon... The last time he had felt like this had been when Gobber had decided it would be a good idea to get his Boneknapper used to smoked eel (almost burning down half of the village in the process if not for the fire department). But what could it have been then to disturb his sleep so much?

He sat up and blinked to accustom his eyes to the darkness. The spot Toothless' plasma bolt had hit was long since gone out but slowly, he could see a bit more. The faint light of the moon, for instance, that illuminated the cave's entrance a bit, or that the storm outside had subsided. The snow that had been blown inside the cave sparkled faintly and at a height of about two feet, there were three luminous pairs of bright yellow eyes.

In the split second it took Hiccup to understand that these eyes did not belong the Zippleback that slept closest to the cave entrance, Toothless awoke with a sudden start. The Night Fury must have sensed that something was wrong – or maybe he had read the boy's thoughts – because in the next moment, his voice rang out in Hiccup's mind,

**Hiccup, get back!**

"Hiccup...?" Astrid's drowsy voice was the signal. While Hiccup grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her aside, a roaring Toothless leaped over them towards the cave entrance. A loud hissing noise greeted him, then the three pairs of eyes and the Night Fury disappeared into the night.

"Great Odin, what...?" Fishlegs' horrified whisper was cut off as Hookfang spat a ball of lava at the entrance which instantly set the rocks ablaze and followed Toothless, accompanied by Stormfly. Meatlug awoke, grunting, and took position in front of the entrance, snarling angrily, while Zipzap's two heads went around the Gronckle and screeched into the night.

"Dude!" Tuffnut moaned as the twins stumbled over to Hiccup, Astrid and Snotlout, followed by Fishlegs who looked very ill.

"What's going on?" Ruffnut asked, sounding annoyed, but there was a hint of worry in her voice.

"There was something at the cave's entrance," Hiccup explained, his heart thumping a sixteenth note against his ribs. "I don't – I don't know what it was..."

"Guess we'll have to find out!" Astrid decided who had already recovered from her initial shock. She grabbed her axe and attempted to follow the dragons but Meatlug and Zipzap suddenly whirled around and roared at the Vikings before she could even take two steps. Surprised, Astrid paused and turned to Hiccup.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded. "What are they doing?" As if he knew any more than she did! Hiccup scoffed and shrugged before nervously looking back at the entrance. The dragons were now facing outside again, hissing (Zipzap) and growling (Meatlug) every now and then.

"Don't do anything rash, buddy," Hiccup whispered, clenching his fists.

It felt like they waited an eternity. With the Gronckle and the Zippleback blocking the entrance and growling at everyone who dared to come closer, the teenagers grudgingly accepted their fate and decided to wait. Hiccup feverishly pondered what could have happened. When did the dragons act like that normally? He was sure he had seen them acting like this, but when? When?

It was shortly before sunset that Meatlug and Zipzap suddenly did something that resembled a disdainful snort and the teenagers sat up in surprise – both dragons left the entrance and made way for the returning Hookfang, Toothless and Stormfly.

"Toothless!" Relieved, Hiccup jumped to his feet and ran towards his friend. "What in Thor's name was that?"

**Egg Hunters!**, the Night Fury spat scornfully. **They thought they could kill us in our sleep!**

"Egg Hunters?" repeated Hiccup incredulously. "What...?" He suddenly understood why Meatlug and Zipzap had acted so strangely – it had been their natural protective instinct that normally kicked in when their babies were endangered! The dragons had simply forgotten that they were protecting their riders and not their younglings...

**They always hunt in packs**, Toothless said, shaking his massive head like a nervous horse. **We killed those three but they were just the vanguard. We better leave while we can!**

"Yeah, before more of them appear..." Hiccup muttered affirmatively. He ruffled his hair thoughtfully and turned to the other Vikings who had all run towards their respective dragon partners.

They had lost enough time as it was – time that Hrist may not have, even as a hostage.

"Let's get out of here!" he said.

"What were those things?" Fishlegs asked, his eyes big with fear, and looked over to the cave entrance.

"Toothless says they were Egg Hunters," Hiccup explained. "There were only three of them here but there are probably lots of them wherever they came from. The sooner we get out of here, the better, if you ask me."

Normally, at least Snotlout and Tuffnut would have insisted on killing the Egg Hunters right now but even they probably understood they had to set priorities – soon, all five dragons were up in the air again, flying south, leaving the Island of the Egg Hunters far behind.

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><p><em>to be continued.<em>


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the late update. I'm back (more or less) but I'm afraid I can't guarantee weekly updates anymore because the story decided to get a life of its own... I hope you enjoy the read anyway! Happy Easter to all of you!_

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><p>Hopeless was - just as the name said - an entirely hopeless place. If Hiccup had thought that Berk was boring and dull with all the snow and the hail and the fact that you didn't <em>walk<em> on the island, you _waded_, then he had been entirely wrong: Hopeless was a lot duller than Berk could ever be.

There were no forests like on Berk, no snow-covered mountains, no opportunities to watch the sunset, only a few hills and barren, grey rocks. It was a bit warmer twelve days south from the Meridian of Misery, though, the snow here had already melted into cold, grey slush. Fittingly, the sky was full of thick rain clouds and it was drizzling which didn't exactly add up to Hiccup's well-being. How the resident Murderous Mongrels could live here without getting severe depression was a mystery to him - but at least it explained why they didn't live up to their name (rumour had it that the tribe had only taken this moniker so that they would at least have a fearsome name if they couldn't plunder and ravish like everyone else) and were completely dependent on trade with the other islands. There even was a proverb on Berk about them - "harmless as a Mongrel".

"Yikes," Astrid said once they had landed slightly away from the Mongrels' village. "I can't believe I ever complained about Berk!"

None of the youths had ever been to Hopeless before; they were too young to take part in Gobber's so-called Pirate Training (because fighting other Vikings was something entirely else than killing dragons!) - normally, they would have been stuck in their village until the first of them turned eighteen (Fishlegs), excluding the hunting trips. The journey offered a welcome change, if born out of necessity.

Instead of the twelve days it took by boat, they had reached Hopeless in only about a week. But considering the fact that only few Viking tribes lived south of the Mongrels, it was probably better if they re-stocked their supplies right now - they had eaten nothing but fish in the past three days and while they were used to it, they were Vikings, for crying out loud! And Vikings ate meat, simple as that.

"What are we gonna do now?" Fishlegs asked after laboriously climbing down from Meatlug's back. "Do the Mongrels know that our dragons aren't dangerous?"

"No idea," Hiccup replied honestly. "And truth be told, I'd rather not find out, we can't afford any conflicts. One of us should stay here and look after the dragons while the others go into the village and-"

"Stay here and what, face a group of enemies all by themselves?" Astrid interrupted him with a frown. "I think we should stick together, the dragons can take care of themselves." Toothless huffed approvingly and meaningfully nudged Hiccup towards the village. The boy threw an offended glance at the Night Fury and murmured:

"Traitor."

**I have no idea what you're talking about.**

"See, Toothless is on my side," Astrid continued, determined.

"I think we should stick together, too," Fishlegs said. "The stats of the tribes considerate towards us aren't that high."

"Hopeless is a trading island," Ruffnut replied, not very convinced.

"Exactly, what do you think'll happen here?" Tuffnut agreed. Hiccup made a mental note to memorize this day - twins actually agreed on something!

"I think Astrid's right," Snotlout said. "We're, like, a team - we should totally show them that we Hairy Hooligans don't stand for any nonsense!" Hiccup rubbed the bridge of his nose and eventually raised both hands in defeat.

"Alright," he sighed, "we stick together, then. But we shouldn't attract too much attention and better concentrate on getting some information. Maybe someone has seen that Night Fury?"

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><p>They didn't stick together in the end. Snotlout and Tuffnut had discovered a weapon shop and run off while Fishlegs and an eye-rolling Ruffnut had consented to get provisions, so that Astrid and Hiccup had ended up alone.<p>

It wasn't like they had never been on their own on Berk - there had been hikes and joined hunts, peaceful evenings in the Great Hall and early-morning flights with their dragons - but they had never been alone in a foreign place before. Hiccup caught himself blushing when he realized that, for the first time in a week, he was all alone with his girlfriend and in the middle of the giant, lively market place of the Mongrels at that.

"We - uh - w-we should ask some of the residents if they've seen the Night Fury," he stammered nervously when Astrid looked at him curiously. Astrid watched him for a moment, a very strange, amused expression on her face, before taking his hand and dragging him into the crowd.

"I can go by myself...," he protested weakly and earned an angry glance from his girlfriend.

"I just don't want you to get lost! We don't have the time to look for you later." Hiccup had the sneaking suspicion that this was just an excuse, he knew Astrid, after all, but he remained silent and just obeyed her. Who was he to deny her the wish to hold hands?

Their first station was a pub which smelled abominably and had mead tankards that were so big that even Gobber would have been lying under the table after drinking a second one.

"Night Fury?" one of the Vikings repeated after Hiccup had gingerly asked if somebody could help them. "Nobody has ever seen a Night Fury, those beasts attack in the dark!"

"I can give ye kids my mother-in-law if ye're lookin' for a dragon, though," someone else said and the whole tavern roared with laughter. Astrid and Hiccup looked at each other, decided that none of the people present knew anything and fled from the horrid stench.

"Maybe we should ask the merchants," Astrid suggested after taking in a deep breath of the clean air outside. "They're sitting outside all day long, if someone has seen anything, it's them!"

But after two hours of wandering up and down the market place, they were at their wits' end. What if they had been wrong and the Night Fury hadn't been flying in this direction? What if Toothless didn't really remember where his kind lived? What if they were too late and Hrist was...

"Stop brooding," Astrid's gentle voice cut through his dark thoughts. "Don't worry. We'll find her. We just have to."

"But you heard it yourself," Hiccup sighed and removed a damp strand of hair from his forehead. "Nobody has seen anything! How could they? They probably still think that the dragons will roast every Viking who so much as dares set a foot outside! And before Toothless came along, none of us has ever seen a Nigh Fury, either..."

"Looking for a Night Fury, are you now?" Hiccup gave a start and actually jumped in the air while Astrid spun around, her hand automatically on the hilt of her axe, already pulling it free before realizing that there was just a small, old woman standing in front of them. She had a hump and leaned heavily on a wooden staff, her hair was grey and matted and if Hiccup wasn't mistaken, she was blind.

"I, uh... Yeah," he answered slowly while trying to get his frantically beating heart to calm down. "Yeah, we're looking for a Night Fury."

"Why?" He and Astrid exchanged a look. Was it safe to tell the old woman what had happened? But then again, there wasn't much fear of a blind granny, was there?

"It kidnapped one of our tribe's children," Hiccup explained. "We've been following it for a week now, but I'm afraid we've lost it..." The old woman looked from him to Astrid and nodded.

"When I was young, there were many Night Furies here," she said and Hiccup stifled an unnerved groan. He didn't want to hear childhood stories from a blind old woman, they had to find out where that dragon was taking Hrist! "Sometimes, they would fly over the island... but then, there was a horrible noise and they disappeared, just like that. 'Tis a pity - beautiful creatures, they were."

"Mhmm," Astrid said. "But we really don't-"

"I could have sworn I heard one last night, too," the old hag continued unblinking. "The quiet whisper of its thoughts... Home, home, they seemed to say, you know? It came from the North and disappeared to the South. Did you know the Night Furies used to live on a beautiful island south from here? But they're gone now, yes, all gone... Home, home, has the Night Fury flown, but it was not alone..." Hiccup noticed that he was getting goosebumps. This woman was creepy.

"Um, th-thanks for your help," he said quickly. "But, uh... we really have to go now..."

"A lost child," the old woman mused as if she hadn't heard him. "And a dark, dark horror... You should be very careful if you look for Night Furies, children." The piercing look of her blind eyes fixated on Hiccup. "One of you will not return." A cold shiver ran down his spine.

"Wha-What do you...?"

"Hiccup! Astrid!" Fishlegs' voice made them turn around - he and Ruffnut were coming towards them, loaded with supplies. "There you are. But... oh, are we interrupting something?"

"Duh, why do you think they've been hiding in this alley all alone?" Ruffnut snorted. "Probably not because they want company, you moron!"

"Alone?" Astrid repeated, confused. "No, there's..." She and Hiccup turned around to the old woman but she was gone. As if the earth had swallowed her up.

"Great Odin," Hiccup moaned. "What...?"

"... Let's get out of here," Astrid growled, her hand on the hilt of her axe again. "I don't like this."

"Huh? What is it?" Fishlegs asked.

"Let's go look for Tuff and 'Lout," Hiccup replied, seriously spooked. "And then we should find a place to stay tonight..." Ruffnut and Fishlegs looked at each other in bewilderment, but didn't question them any further and followed Hiccup and Astrid down the market place.

The search for the other youths did nothing to distract him from the old woman's creepy words and her sudden disappearance. What had this been, a joke from the Gods? Had Loki been bored and decided to play a trick on them? Or had this been a message from the Norns trying to tell them that their journey was ill-fated? Could he possibly have imagined the woman? But no, Astrid had seen her and talked to her, too. How likely was it that they both had had the same hallucination? And what had the woman meant by saying that one of them would not return...?

"Guys! There you are, we've been searching for you everywhere!" His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the little group bumped into Snotlout and Tuffnut.

"It's your own fault if you wander off," Ruffnut grumbled and greeted her twin brother with a kick to his shin.

"Ouch! Hey, are you nuts?" Before the twins could start another brawl, Snotlout went in between and pointed nervously towards the port:

"Guys, you have to come see this! You won't believe what we found!"

"Found?" Fishlegs repeated sceptically who looked as if he rather wouldn't know whatever the two had discovered. Hiccup agreed with him in secret. They still followed the two of them to the port, if only to get Snotlout and Tuffnut who seemed to be giddy with nervousness to shut up.

The port of Hopeless resembled the Berk one but was much bigger than the one belonging to the Hairy Hooligans. It was full of ships which sails showed their clanship and Hiccup actually recognized some of them; sometimes, it paid off to be the chief's son.

But then his gaze fell on a fleet of ships which sails he knew all too well, and he groaned quietly.

They belonged to the Screaming Scoundrels, the Hairy Hooligans' arch enemies.


End file.
